A Ray of Hope
by Sherman-the-cat
Summary: To the magical world, Harry is a ray of hope. To Harry, his friends are his ray of hope. Everything that happens between the funeral at the end of HBP and when Harry sets out to destroy the Horcruxes. HPGW. RWHG. Book 6 SPOILERS!
1. The intruder

Ginny watched silently as Harry turned away from her and walked the path back to the school. Despite Harry ending their relationship she knew she wouldn't cry. She understood that he still cared for her and was only distancing himself in order to protect her. He was being typical; self sacrificing and unnecessarily noble, but then… she knew that was part of him and it was one of the reasons she cared for him. Of course she did not intend to follow through with what she had told Harry. He was too emotional right now, but to Ginny, there was no way he was going anywhere without her. The funeral had ended and slowly people were rising from there seats and drifting back to the Great Hall for the wake.

Ron and Hermione rushed past her to talk to Harry but she did not follow. She watched as the Golden trio talked and heard her brother's laughter and a brief smile appeared on Harry's face. Ginny allowed herself a small smile. Harry would be fine. With a sigh, she stood and allowed the throng of people moving around her to carry her up to the school.

Upon her arrival in the Great Hall she saw a large buffet table along the right side wall and house-elves serving drinks. The walls were decorated with black velvet drapes and at the front of the hall there was a large portrait of Dumbledore himself. She worked her way over to it and read the inscription below

_A.W.P.B. Dumbledore_

_Headmaster, Hogwarts School 1956 – 2005_

"_We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided"_

"I highly recommend you sample the lemon drops, they're my favorite," the portrait Dumbledore said to her with a smile. She smiled back at him and headed towards the buffet table only to realize she wasn't very hungry. Still, she pocketed a handful of lemon drops for later.

She looked around the room hoping to catch sight of Harry but could find him no where. Then she heard a voice behind her.

"…won't help out eh? …ways to persuade him." She worked her way closer to the source and say Rufus Scrimgeour talking to her brother Percy, it was Percy who had spoken.

"Don't worry, minister," Percy continued in his usual pompous manner, "He _will_ come to see things our way. Very soon the reality will hit him that his dear protector is dead and he'll come crying to us, begging to help us out in exchange for our protection."

"Well let's hope that day is sooner rather than later. The magical community will be greatly shaken up by all this," Scrimgeour said waving his arm, indicating the wake.

"Do you know," he continued, "the boy actually said some gibberish to me about Dumbledore not really having gone."

"It has been my opinion for quite some time, minister, that the boy is indeed deeply disturbed. After everything he has been through one can hardly blame him. I expect he wants to feel important by having us beg for his help. Yes sir, that's what I believe, he just wants to feel like the big man."

At this point Ginny could listen no further, she stepped out from behind the group of ministry officials she had been hiding behind and walked straight over to Percy. She swung her hand back and with all the strength she could, slapped him hard across the face knocking his glasses askew.

She panted heavily waiting for him to look up at her. She did not notice, nor would she have cared, that half the room was now watching her avidly. When Percy finally looked up at her, a mixture of shock and anger on his face she spoke:

"How dare you! Harry is not some puppet you can parade around to make YOU look good! He wouldn't be seen associating with you if his life depended on it, and, you know what," she paused for dramatic effect, "neither would I!" With fire blazing in her eyes, her throat hoarse from shouting she stormed off with out a backward glance at her brother. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her parents watching her; Mrs. Weasley had tears in her eyes. Ginny felt a twinge of guilt at causing more problems between the family and Percy, but honestly Percy deserved it!

As she walked through the great hall, all eyes were on her and people cleared the way to the doors to let her through. Just as she arrived at the doors though, she caught a whiff of cheap perfume and heard a voice speaking in her ear.

"Hello, I presume you are Ginny Weasley. I've heard marvelous things about you! I was wondering if I could have a word with you about your relationship with Ha…"

But Ginny did not hear what Rita Skeeter said next as she had not paused to listen and had instead continued on into the entrance hall. As she walked, she began to wonder where Harry might be. Knowing him he was most likely brooding she thought to herself with a sigh and silent chuckle.

She paused on the stairs as she suddenly realized that she didn't want to go back to the common room yet. It would be too depressing to be surrounded by all the mourners and far too awkward to see Harry. Still, she was very tired and would need a place to sleep. It was another five minutes before she decided where she would go and headed off to the seventh floor.

Harry had returned to the common room with Ron and Hermione. For a while they had attempted to keep up a light hearted conversation, but as more people arrived in the common room the harder it became to fight of the morose atmosphere. Finally they had all decided to go to bed. Harry had tossed and turned for about half an hour before he realized he wasn't going to get any sleep.

Quietly, he slipped out of bed and dressed pulling on the invisibility cloak as he left. He wandered the halls not really paying attention to where he was going but careful to avoid any teachers, visitors or ghosts. He spent this time going over what he had decided that day and working out the details, how he would get where he was going, what he would need, etc.

Suddenly Harry found himself no longer walking but laying on the cold stone floor. He lay still for a moment to make sure he wasn't injured before sitting up. He looked around the floor and saw what it was had caused him to fall: an empty sherry bottle. That was when he realized where he was. He was sitting just outside the room of requirement.

For a brief moment he felt hollow, he simply sat there unable to move or even think. If he entered would he find the vanishing cabinet that lead him to Borgin and Burkes or would it still not let him enter? Idle curiosity caused Harry to slip out of his state of shock and slowly he stood and raised his hand to the handle.

Harry found himself in a blank room. There was a fire going and a small but comfortable looking armchair and nothing else. The walls and floor were bare. Harry had not known what to expect, the room was supposed to give you what you needed, he hadn't been thinking about anything he needed. The room, it appeared had read his urge to brood. So Harry plunked himself down in the armchair and stared into the fire.

Once again he began to plan his quest for the horcruxes in his mind, but as he stared into the fire he remembered the time Sirius had come to the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room and smiled inwardly. Sirius had been the closest thing he had ever had to a parent and when he died he felt he had lost his only other chance at having family. Then he had befriended Dumbledore and once more he felt like he had a father-figure watching out for him and once again he was deprived. He understood now that he was alone, he had no family but he still felt a ray of hope. He still had his friends; Ron and Hermione and the Weasleys, Neville and Luna and Remus and Tonks… and Ginny. He groaned with frustration as he though of Ginny. He cared for her so much yet circumstances kept them apart. He couldn't let anyone else die because of him, especially not her, not if he could prevent it.

Suddenly a noise jerked him away from his thoughts of Ginny. He heard the door opening and someone entered, only then did Harry become aware that he had been crying. Before he could even move to wipe away the tears he heard the intruder speak.

"Harry…"

It was Ginny.

AN: Ok two mistakes i made are that the books are actually set earlier than current time meaning DD died in 1996 not 2005 but i was worried that that would confuse ppl not as versed in HP ways as I. Also according to a reviewer on they were to go home on the train after the funeral but i choose to ignore that fact and have them go home the next day. Hope you all enjoyed!


	2. a little firelit comfort

Ginny pushed open the door to the room of requirement and nearly stepped back in shock as she saw someone already in there. When she entered the room had been empty except for a fireplace and a chair in which a person was sitting but as she entered a large plush bed appeared due to her 'need' of a place to sleep. She was even more shocked when she realized that the figure in the chair was Harry.

"Harry…" she began but as soon as she had spoken Harry whipped around in his seat and looked at her, eyes wide.

Ginny's heart broke when she saw him, his face was wet from tears and his whole body sagged as if he carried the weight of the world, which, she added to herself, he did.

His lips parted and he sighed, his eyes were filled with longing as he gazed at her causing Ginny to blush. It was an awkward moment before Ginny decided that what happened earlier didn't matter; she was going to comfort him tonight when he needed it most. She glided over to him and sat down beside his chair. He said nothing, only looked at her sadly. She gave him a small smile and pushed the hair back from his eyes. Then she leaned in and kissed him, long and passionately.

She kept one hand in his hair and placed the other on his shoulder. He placed his arms around her waist and sank to the floor next to her, pulling her in closer to him as he did so. The kiss was the greatest feeling Ginny had ever had. Eventually they broke off and Harry rested his head on her shoulder. For nearly an hour they just sat by the fire in silence, holding and comforting each other.

* * *

When Ginny had entered the room, Harry had at first believed he'd slipped off into a dream. Suddenly she was holding him and kissing him and the sensation made Harry realize it was deffinately not a dream. He longed to stay as they were forever but after an hour Harry lifted his head and looked into her eyes.

"Ginny, what are you doing here?" Ginny cocked her head to the side, a smile on her face.

"That question was a bit delayed," she remarked. Harry laughed.

"I didn't feel like going to the dormitories, thought I'd sleep here tonight." Harry squirmed a little and looked away from her.

"Ok, I'll go then," he said, "If you want," he added very fast. He stood up to leave but as soon as he turned to face the door he felt arms circle his chest and Ginny laid her head on his back.

"Stay with me," she whispered. It was not an order but nor was it a question. Despite what Harry's noble side told him to do he couldn't resist the comfort she offered him and he relaxed in her grip.

As soon as he said he would stay, the armchair he had been sitting on morphed into a couch which Ginny then lead him over to.

"Do you want to talk about…" she began.

"No," Harry cut her off. She looked a little hurt so he continued, "It's just, there isn't a lot to talk about. I wasn't, you know…" he paused as his face became red.

"Crying?" Ginny said for him. He nodded, his machoism having been wounded.

"Anyway, I wasn't… you know, because I'm upset, it was because I was happy. I was thinking about how even though I've lost people, I still have others in my life that I care about." He smiled down at her but frowned when he noticed her eyes were narrowed up at him.

"So you don't care about me then?" she said.

"I…Ginny, what…"

"You said, 'others _in my life_ I care about,' but you've told me that I can't be in your life."

"Ginny!" he said getting slightly angry, "I said that _because_ I care about you!"

"Hmph," was all she replied.

"Look it's not my fault, circumstances are what is keeping us apart!"

"No, Harry James Potter," she announced, "YOU are what's keeping us apart!" Harry looked up at her, how dare she blame him for this! His anger was evident on his face yet she kept going.

"You and your stupid macho nobility are what are keeping us apart, Harry!"

"Macho nobility?" he yelled back at her, "Everyone I try to get close to dies, Ginny! They DIE! And I refuse to let that happen to anyone else!"

"Then how come you'll stay with Ron and Hermione? What if the dark lord uses them as bait? You think I care about the risk? I don't give a damn; he could come after me anyway! So when you go off and start getting yourself into danger I'm going to be right there beside you saving your sorry ass, whether you like it or not!"

The room was now full of a stunned silence. Ginny and Harry stood facing each other, anger burning in both their eyes.

The silence was broken when Harry laughed.

"Of course, I knew this would happen, its part of why I love you. What would I do with out you to save my 'sorry ass'?" Harry smiled up at her but he froze when he saw she did not look happy at his agreeing with her. Instead her eyes had filled with tears and she stared at him, an odd expression on her face Harry could not decipher.

For the second time that night she kissed him passionately without a word. Harry immediately forgot about her strange behavior as he hungrily kissed her back. He began to trail kisses down her neck and she held her head up as she sighed with ecstasy.

"Harry," she finally said, he grunted to tell her he was listening but continued to kiss all over her neck and shoulders while caressing her back.

"Have you learned any contraceptive charms?" she asked her voice barely above a whisper.

He stopped kissing her and looked into her eyes. He nodded.

"Now might be a good time for one," she added. Harry's eyes widened in understanding.

"Ginny…are you sure? I mean… I want to. Of course I want to… but you're…we're both emotional right now and you might not be thinking clearly," Harry said this last part very fast.

Ginny looked into his eyes, "I'm ready. I want to," she said in the same whispery voice, though whether because she was nervous or because her throat hurt from shouting he couldn't tell. He nodded to her and they moved over to the bed.

* * *

Ginny was filled with such a feeling of bliss as Harry lay down next to her on the bed and muttered the contraceptive charm. He had said he loved her! Even though he hadn't meant to, or even realized he had said it, his Freudian slip had shown and she knew he loved her! She knew this was right, they were both ready and they needed it. Dumbledore would have, well, not exactly wanted _this_, but he would have wanted more love brought into the world. And she knew with more certainty than she had ever felt as they made love, that she truly loved Harry with all her heart. 


	3. Congratulations

It is often amusing, the first thing a person will think of in certain situations. For example, the first thing Ginny Weasley noticed the following morning was that the fireplace had disappeared and a window had taken its place. The sunlight streamed in and fell on the happy couple as they lay in bed together, their clothes strewn about the room. She sat up to get a good look at her sleeping boyfriend but her movement stirred him awake.

"Hey," she whispered too him.

"Hey," he whispered back, "how are you?" he asked with genuine concern in his voice.

"I'm fine, a little sore but it was most definitely worth it."

A huge grin spread across the face of the boy who lived as he laughed out loud and pulled her into a kiss. The kiss had none of the passion from last night but was instead more gentle and full of caring. Ginny smiled back at him, happier than she could ever remember being.

"We should probably go down to breakfast," she said. Harry groaned.

"Can't we just stay here forever?" he asked causing her to laugh and kiss him gently again.

"Well, we could certainly try but that nosy brother of mine would eventually find us and kill you."

A look of sheer terror crossed Harry's face and he bolted out of bed.

"Now all we need is a shower," but as soon as the words were out of his mouth a door appeared to Ginny's left, and she knew it most likely led to a bathroom.

After they had both showered (together as a matter of fact) they had begun the process of finding their clothes in the mess the room of requirement had become.

"I think I found your pants, Gin!" Harry shouted from the other end of the room as Ginny was putting on her underwear and shirt.

"What the…!" Harry cried as Ginny heard a gentle clattering. She looked over to see that all the lemon drops from yesterday had fallen out of her pants pocket when Harry picked them up.

Harry looked at her with one eyebrow raised. Ginny laughed and grabbed the pants from his hand.

"They're lemon drops, Harry." Understanding crossed Harry's features and they finished dressing in silence, neither knowing what to say. They both felt the reminder of the pain, but neither wanted to ruin their happy mood. Ginny grabbed the lemon drops and put them back in her pocket as Harry put on his robes. She smiled at him and he returned the smile and they walked out of the room hand in hand.

* * *

Ron had been worried when he had woken to find Harry was not in bed. He had become increasingly worried when he had not seen Harry in the common room or at breakfast. So it was with a great sigh of relief that Ron greeted Harry when he finally arrived in the Great Hall that morning.

"Where've you been?" Ron asked as Harry sat down. Ginny had gone to sit with her friends further down the table.

"Um, couldn't sleep, went for a walk," Harry replied digging into breakfast. This seemed a good enough answer for Ron; Hermione on the other hand was giving Harry a suspicious look. Harry blushed and refused to meet her eyes and instead focused all his attention on the toast in front of him. She kept looking back and forth between him and Ginny and Harry hoped Ginny wasn't doing or saying anything that could give them away.

"Well, you missed it Harry."

"Missed what?" he asked Hermione who had spoken, still not looking directly at her.

"McGonagall gave a speech. The train's coming at noon to bring us home. We're to get an owl over the summer letting us know whether or not school will reopen." Harry nodded but would not speak.

"Well doesn't really matter to us, does it?" said Ron, "Us not coming back either way and all."

"Mm," Harry agreed, all too aware that Hermione was still watching him closely.

Unfortunately Ginny chose that exact moment to come sit next to him.

"Hey," she said casually to everyone. Hermione watched anxiously, Ron merely grunted through a mouthful of cereal.

Ginny leaned in to whisper something in Harry's ear. He silently wished that whatever she was going to say was nothing incriminating, but thankfully Bill and Fleur came over at that very moment.

"Hey all," Bill said slowly, his face was obviously still causing him a great deal of pain, "We were supposed to apparate back with mum and dad yesterday but… is that sausage?" he asked. Without waiting for a response he grabbed it and began chewing it greedily.

"Oh dear," muttered Fleur, "Ever since 'is accident he 'as been eating nothing but meat. What he was trying to tell you is zat he was unable to apparate do to 'is condition. We will be taking the train to King's cross with you all before he goes to St. Mungo's for some…analysis."

"Analysis on what exactly?" Ron asked, having finally stopped eating due to the repulsive display that was Bill with his sausage.

"Analysis on what the after-effects of his injuries will be, and 'ow to…control them," she said, grimacing as she glanced at Bill.

"Come along darling," she said pulling him away from the meat. He seemed to jerk out of his reverie.

"Wait!" he said, "I wanted to congratulate you Gin!"

Harry paled immediately. Surely he couldn't know! Maybe he was only pretending to be happy about it around Ginny so that he could kill Harry and devour him like the sausage when she was gone. Harry gulped.

"Congratulate me on what?" Ginny asked sounding perfectly cool. Harry would have to count on her to deny everything if it came to that as he was finding it difficult to breath, let alone speak.

"Congratulations on slapping Percy!"

Oh thank Merlin, Harry thought!

"You hit Percy?" Ron stammered, then turned to Hermione and said, "She hit Percy! How come you wouldn't let me?" Hermione just tutted at him and returned her attention to Bill and Ginny.

"Wait, you hit Percy?" Harry asked Ginny. Ginny blushed.

"Well yeah, I guess I did, but only because he was being a total prat."

Bill winked at her and strode off with his fiancé; Hermione was torn between wanting to express her disproval and laughing at Ron who beamed at Ginny as if she had just declared chastity. Ginny looked rather embarrassed about it all and began picking at the crusts of Harry's toast.

"Well, come on then," Hermione said, "we'd best go and get packed." With a sigh the group stood up and Harry walked with his arm around Ginny. All in all, Harry thought it had been a pretty good morning!

* * *

AN: Not as good as the previous two chapters I think, I had those two planned out, this one I made up on the spot. I hope you all like it, constructive criticism is always helpful. I promise better chapters to come as I plan to brainstorm tonight. Toodles for now! 


	4. girl talk and boy fights

The Hogwarts express had been traveling for a little over an hour now and Ginny was feeling quite content to sit in Harry's arms while talking and laughing with everyone. Luna was filling them in on her father's latest discovery.

"The Balgonds live mostly in the Canadian north so that's most likely where I'll be spending most of the summer."

"Well let us know how that goes then," Ron said humoring her. Neville on the other hand looked fascinated and Ginny couldn't help but fantasize about the two of them getting together. It had been quite a year for couples; her and Harry, Tonks and Lupin, Bill and Fleur, not to mention that Ron and Hermione seemed to be getting on rather well. She smiled to herself at the thought of all the devious ways she could set up Ron and Hermione.

"What are you smiling about Gin?" Harry asked teasingly. She only smiled at him as if to say 'I know something you don't know,' which only peaked Harry's interest.

"I think you better tell me,"

"And why's that?"

"'Cuz if you don't I'm gonna do this!" and with that he began tickling her sides playfully. Ginny was extremely ticklish and started screaming and laughing.

"Ah no! Harry!" she yelled, but he continued. Everyone in the compartment was watching with laughter, Ron was narrowing his eyes as if her were in pain and tried to take his mind off it by talking to Hermione.

When Ginny realized she no longer had Ron's attention, she whispered into Harry's ears during a break in the tickling attack, "I want you to touch me gently."

Harry immediately stopped and stared at her. Then slowly, with a horror struck expression on his face turned to look at Ron. Unfortunately Ginny had said it louder than intended and the entire compartment had heard. They all stared back and forth between Ron and Harry. It was an extremely tense moment. Finally Ron simply shrugged and broke the tension. Harry sighed with immense relief but tensed up again when he noticed Hermione watching him the way she had been doing at breakfast.

"Ginny," Hermione said.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"I need to go to the bathroom, why don't you come with me."

Ginny took the hint that Hermione wanted to talk about something private and wordlessly got up and followed her out into the hall. Hermione found an empty compartment and locked the door behind them, muttering a silencing charm.

"So, tell me everything!" Hermione commanded, excitement dancing in her eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Ginny asked confused.

"Oh come on, Ginny, its obvious!" Ginny just stared at her questioningly.

"You and Harry slept together!" Silence filled the compartment and Ginny stared at Hermione wondering if there were any way out of this situation, but she knew Hermione was too smart and she sighed.

"Yeah, we did," she admitted. Hermione squealed with joy and put her arms on Ginny's shoulders.

"You have to tell me, everything!" Ginny sighed as if annoyed but then her glee overcame her and she smiled up at Hermione.

"Oh, Hermione, it was so wonderful!"

"I'll say," Hermione replied, "You look like someone put a cheering charm on you!"

Ginny giggled and continued on.

"We ran into each other last night in the room of requirement. He was brooding and I was looking for somewhere other than Gryffindor tower to sleep and one thing lead to another…"

Hermione looked like she could burst with joy for her friend.

"Oh, Gin, I'm so happy for you!"

"Thank you!" Ginny said still smiling as if she'd slept with a hanger in her mouth.

"You did use protection though, right?" Hermione asked.

"Of course!"

They left the compartment and headed back to the one they had been in with the others. As they walked Ginny said, "You CANNOT tell Ron about this, EVER! He will KILL Harry before You-Know-Who even gets another chance!"

Hermione laughed but said, "Well I don't know. That 'touch me gently' thing you said before, he seemed ok."

But just as the words left her mouth they slid open the compartment door to find Ron and Harry wrestling each other on the floor. Neville and Luna were pushed back as far as they could into the corner and away from the struggling boys.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Hermione yelled at them both. Both boys immediately froze in the wrestling position, neither looked very comfortable as Ron had his elbow dug into Harry's side and Harry's left foot was up under Ron's chin.

"What the hell is going on!" Ginny yelled at them

"Ron made his feelings about your previous statement clear just after you left," Luna said having calmed down but still holding onto Neville who didn't seem to mind. Ginny seethed with rage and looked down at her brother, even through the spell; he shuddered at the look she gave him.

"What I do or do not do with MY boyfriend is none of your business, Ronald," she said putting extra emphasis on his full name which he hated.

"It would be fitting to leave you like this for the rest of the trip but frankly, it looks as if it would be hard to disentangle Harry from you if you stay that way so I'll let you up. Finite Incantatem."

Both boys groaned as they slowly pulled themselves up off the floor. Ginny ushered over to Harry and helped him to his seat.

"Poor Harry," she cooed to him shooting her brother another evil look. Ron spent the rest of the trip sulking, oblivious to the fact that Hermione had placed a comforting hand on his arm.

* * *

When they finally pulled into King's cross station and began collecting their luggage Ron approached Harry.

"Sorry mate, it's not my place, just… you know," he muttered, embarrassed.

"It's ok. I understand," Harry replied apologetically. Nothing further needed to be said, it was behind them now.

"I'll see you in a few weeks I guess," Harry said to Ron shaking his hand. Hermione gave Harry a hug and Neville and Luna both said there farewells. Now came the hardest part.

He turned to Ginny and saw she was smiling at him.

"We're not saying goodbye Harry," she said matter-of-factly.

"We aren't?"

"Of course not! I'll see you in a few weeks! Maybe sooner if I can manage it," She winked at him and placed a soft kiss on his cheek and ran through the barrier.

He stared after her for less than 2 seconds before running after her and grabbing her arm before she could reach her waiting family. He pulled her into a passionate kiss which lasted at least a minute before he looked up past her and saw all her brothers glaring at him, Mr. Weasley pretending he had not seen anything and Mrs. Weasley with tears of joy in her eyes. Ginny looked in the direction Harry was staring and laughed. She gave him another quick peck on the cheek before running over to rejoin her family.

Harry raised his arm in a good bye wave and set of towards the Dursleys, one last time.

* * *

AN: Hoped you liked that. Took me a while to figure out what I would write for this chapter. I need to think a bit about how I'll do the next chapter but it will probably be up by tonight or tomorrow. It's summer so I have nothing to do and I'm really enjoying writing this! See you all next time! 


	5. An unexpected swim

The sun rose over the rooftops of the houses of Privet Drive in the same manner it had done every other day for the last week. Harry Potter rolled over to face away from the light coming in through his window.

He'd been having such a good dream, it had involved Ginny and an army-camouflage patterned bikini. He smiled just thinking about it and checked under the bed sheets. Yep, there was the proof of the dream. Wonder how I'll explain that to aunt Petunia, Harry wondered to himself. Maybe he could sneak his sheets into the wash before the Dursleys woke up. He looked over at his alarm clock; six o'clock, it read. With a sigh, Harry groped for his glasses and crawled out of bed.

He had been with the Dursleys for a little over a week now and was counting the days until his 17th birthday. He knew that he didn't have to stay that long but he figured Dumbledore would have wanted him to use aunt Petunia's protection for as long as he could; the spell became void when he became a legal adult.

He dressed quickly in a pair of faded and torn baggy jean shorts and a black t-shirt that had, like most of his clothes, once been Dudley's and as such was much too big for him.

He headed down the stairs taking his sheets with him and dropped them into the washer before starting the cycle.

He was just helping himself to a bit of cereal when his aunt and uncle descended the stairs into the kitchen.

His uncle wrinkled his nose in what Harry took to be disgust at the sight of him, aunt Petunia chose to ignore his presence completely.

Harry ate fast hoping to get out of the house and away from the Dursleys as fast as possible. He had taken to spending most of his time at Mrs. Figg's house a few blocks over. Since Harry's first day back, everyday one or two members of the Order would come visit; usually Lupin or Tonks and occasionally Mad-eye. Whenever they got together they would practice dueling in Mrs. Figg's basement and teach Harry a variety of new spells. Because Harry was in the house of a known magical person, his underage magic was not noticed by the ministry and he needed all the practice he could get before he left to find the horcruxes.

So when he left number four at 6:30 that morning and headed off neither his aunt nor uncle questioned it; as long as they didn't have to deal with him, he could do what he liked.

Harry rang the doorbell to Mrs. Figg's house and was let in by Tonks.

"Wotcher, Harry," she said to him. She seemed much happier and back to her usual state (including bubble gum pink hair) now that she and Lupin were together.

They got started right away, practicing all the spells and charms he had learned so far while Mrs. Figg and her cats watched from the side. Harry couldn't deny it, he was becoming very good and all the Order members were constantly telling him he was a natural.

"To fight a wizard's duel you don't need to be big and strong. You just need speed and quick thinking, agility!" Mad-eye had told him only a few days ago. This theory suited Harry nicely; while his body was indeed nicely toned he'd always been on the skinny side, but he was also light and quick which was part of what made him such a good seeker.

It wasn't until near four o'clock that Harry left, calling his goodbyes and promising to return tomorrow. Harry was going over the last practice duel he had had with Tonks. She had sent a powerful jinx at his knees to knock him over and at the same time had sent the cutting curse across his chest. Of course it was practice so all the spells they used were would have no actual effect on their target; Tonks' intent was to have Harry only able to block one of the attacks while being hit by the other.

However, Harry had surprised even himself by jumping up and to the left while leaning back so that both curses missed him and at the same time he conjured a shield charm so powerful that Tonks next spell (a confundus charm) was rebounded back on her with such strength that it took Harry's counter spell a full twenty minutes to take effect.

With the play-by-play going in his head Harry didn't even notice that there were people following him. He continued to walk along until he reached Braven's creek and saw their shadows in the water.

He spun around and pulled out his wand but before he could aim it at anything, one of his stalkers body checked him causing his wand to go flying.

Momentarily disoriented he merely lay on the ground before looking at his attackers.

It was five boys about his age, all built the same as Crabbe and Goyle. Harry recognized one of them to be Piers Polkiss and knew that this was Dudley's gang. For six years they had left Harry alone on Dudley's orders, but Dudley was not with them and Harry did not have his wand, nor, he thought, could he have used it if he did as that would be breaking wizarding law by using magic in front of muggles. Things were not looking very good for Harry Potter at that moment.

He decided he would press to his advantage; he wasn't strong enough to fight back, but he could outrun them. The problem was that he was still lying on the ground and they had surrounded him.

"Look it's the Potter freak!" one of them called to the others in a mocking voice. They all laughed.

"I thought they'd shipped you off to that prison school, freak" Harry tried to think of a cool retort but they did not give him the chance as the next thing he knew, He was being held down by three of them and the other two were kicking and punching. Harry couldn't call out for help as the wind was knocked out of him. But out of the corner of his eye he saw one of Mrs. Figgs cats run back in the direction it had come, no doubt to inform whatever Order members remained of the trouble their savior was in.

Harry knew what bullies were like; he knew they liked to spark resistance so Harry just lay there, docile, as they continued to hit him.

After what seemed like ages they seemed to understand that he would not fight back and ceased their attack.

As soon as they relented Harry stood up to run. Piers tried to grab at him but Harry easily dodged the slow movement. Suddenly he had been caught by two of them and was being hauled off his feet. The creak swam into his view.

Oh no, the thought before flying through the air and landing with a splash in the icy water.

"What the hell's going on here?" Harry knew that voice, it was Dudley. For a brief moment Harry was grateful for Dudley's presence because he knew Dudley would order his cronies to leave. Then he met Dudley's eyes and saw a smile in them. Dudley's eyes flew to a point to his left and Harry followed their gaze to his wand lying in the grass. Dudley knew he was defenseless; he was dead.

Harry stood up to run but slipped in the mud below the creek and fell over back into the water. Raucous laughter ensued from Dudley and his gang. Harry scowled at them from where he lay. He was beaten, wet and covered in mud but he had a slight chance, he was several meters away from them now and could run if only he could get out of the water fast enough.

While Dudley and his friends continued to laugh and shared their own private jokes, turning there attention away from Harry, he slipped off his too-large wet shirt, it would only slow him down, and positioned himself to get ready to run.

As he was crawling out, the bullies noticed what he was doing and began to advance on him. Just as he moved to run he heard a voice to his left and all the boys froze. Standing by Harry's wand was a beautiful girl with fiery red hair that fell several inches below her shoulders and then she spoke:

"Just what do you think you're doing to my boyfriend?"

* * *

AN: Teehee. Ginny to the rescue! Ok so Mrs. Figg is not technically a magical person as she is a squib but for my stories purposes were going to assume that after the mix up with the dementors in book 5 she was added to ministry records.

Also, in this story Harry has already told Ginny about the prophecy.

There has been some confusion about the dates I put on DD's portrait in chapter one. For the record the dates there are the years he was Headmaster not the years he lived.

Next chapter coming up soon!


	6. Nightime visits

Silence echoed, broken only by the sound of the water lapping around Harry's legs as he stood in the creek, shivering. After the initial shock of a girl showing up and referring to Harry as 'her boyfriend', Piers Polkiss separated from his group of friends and approached the girl while everyone else remained silent and still; watching.

"Hey sweetie," he said to her, Ginny scowled at him, disgusted.

"Don't worry about the freak," he went on walking closer and closer to Ginny, "he's nobody. He deserves what he's getting."

Piers was now standing right up in Ginny's personal space, not a good place to be when she was angry as was proven a moment later when Piers yet out a howl of pain and fell to the ground; Ginny had kneed him in his tender zone. All the boys winced, even Harry.

Now Ginny drew her wand from her pocket.

"Now which one of you is Harry's cousin?" she asked. Dudley remained silent until one of his 'friends' pushed him forward. Ginny noticed him and said:

"Ah I see. Then I take it you know what this is," she indicated her wand, Dudley nodded and Ginny smiled at him maliciously.

"In that case," she went on, "You might want to leave and take you friends with you. Right now."

Dudley didn't need to be told twice, he staggered off as fast as he could and one by one his friends drifted after him. Ginny lowered her wand and looked over at Harry.

He was at last, painfully pulling himself out of the creek when he was knocked to the ground for the third time that day. It took him a moment to register that this time it was Ginny who had pounced on him and she was currently devouring his lips with her own. As pleasurable as he found it, she was laying on top of him where Dudley's gang had earlier been kicking him so he cursed himself when he let out of groan of pain that caused Ginny to stop kissing him. She rolled off him and stared at his bare chest. He was wet and dirty and through the dirt she could see several bruised forming, one of which looked like it might be over a broken rib or two. She raised her gaze to his face and saw his nose was bleeding and he had a few small gashes on his arms and legs.

"Oh my goodness! Harry, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize!"

He groaned once again as he sat up.

"It's alright, Gin. I'd be worse than this if not for you." He said smiling at her. She helped him to his feet and let him put some of his weight on her to help him walk.

"Come on," he said, "we'll go to Mrs. Figg's and they can heal me there."

"Oh Harry," Ginny cried, "They've all already left! And Mrs. Figg can't do it herself!"

"Well, then you can do it," Harry stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"But Harry, I've only been taking the medical magic course for one year and, let's face it, I'm no Hermione and could end up de-boning you like Lockhart!"

"I trust you, Ginny," was all he said in return. It was enough for him, and was better than nothing, so he grabbed his wand off the ground and with Ginny's help he limped back to Mrs. Figg's house.

* * *

"Oh thank goodness you're all right! What in the world happened?" Mrs. Figg cried as they walked over the threshold. She hurried to get a towel and blanket for Harry who was still wet and shirtless. Ginny lied him down on the couch and propped his head up onto some pillows.

"Dudley's gang cornered me. I lost my wand." Mrs. Figg shook her head in disproval.

"I swear, I'm going to have a talk with your aunt and uncle about that boy. He's a danger to himself and those around him! He and that gang of his are responsible for more than half the petty crimes committed in this town!"

"Ginny how did you get here?" Harry asked her as Mrs. Figg huffed off to the kitchen to make tea. Ginny held his hand and looked into his eyes, God how she had missed him!

"I used floo powder to get here to visit just as everyone else was leaving. Then the cat came along and Mrs. Figg told me that you were in trouble because the cat shouldn't have left you until you got home and you hadn't had time to do so yet." Ginny shrugged and continued, "So I came looking for you."

"And saved my 'sorry ass'," Harry said, a mischievous smile dancing in his eyes. Ginny returned the smile savoring their inside joke until Harry tried to sit up to kiss her but winced with the effort.

"Harry, are you sure you want me to heal you? You don't want to wait an hour to send a letter to the Order?"

"I trust you," was all he said once again. Ginny mumbled that she didn't trust herself but Harry just leaned back with his eyes closed, waiting.

"Here goes," Ginny said to herself and prayed she did it right.

* * *

Several hours later, Harry lay in the guest bed in Mrs. Figg's house. Ginny had healed him up perfectly except that he had still felt very weak afterwards. Ginny said that if she had done it properly he'd be perfectly fine but to Harry, it was still better then having two broken ribs. He had been too tired to make it home, especially after Mrs. Figg had cooked a large, though slightly musty, tasting dinner and offered the place to stay for them both. Ginny had gone to sleep in Mrs. Figg's daughter's room and would return to the Burrow tomorrow morning.

Harry was just drifting off to sleep when he heard footsteps outside his door. Automatically his senses became alert and he reached for his wand.

His door opened and in stepped Ginny. He relaxed instantly. She came and crawled into the bed with him.

"Hi," she whispered looking up at him.

"Hi," he whispered back, kissing the top of her head.

"I feel I must congratulate you, Ginny. You stood up to 'Big D's gang' not many people can boast they've done that."

"Well, all men have the same weakness," she giggled.

"Yeah, about that, remind me never to piss you off, ok?"

"You're cute," Ginny commented. Kissing him gently on the lips.

"By the way Ginny, that nightgown is truly horrendous," he said. She was wearing one of Mrs. Figg's pastel green nighties. She snickered into the pillow and said, "Would you prefer me to take it off?"

"Oh, it goes without saying!" he replied back to her. She got up out of bed and lifted the offending garment off her body, her hair cascading onto her shoulders as she pulled it over her head.

Harry could not suppress a gasp as he saw how beautiful she looked with the moonlight illuminating her milky white skin. He had seen her naked on the last night they were together but not like this. Then it had been all about passion and lust. Now though, he had time to look at her and admire every inch of her, for every inch of her was perfect.

He sensed her blush under his gaze and patted the bed beside him invitingly.

"I don't think so Mr. Potter," she said playfully, " No I refuse to come any closer to those hideous boxers."

Harry grinned at her and pulled them off fast.

"Much better," she joked sliding back into bed with him.

And they made love for the second time that night allowing their passion for each other to consume them, if only till the sun rose.

* * *

AN: Hm… that chapter was a bit rushed wasn't it? Oh well, it's about 2:00 and I'm very tired so that's probably why. Once again I didn't plan this chapter through as well as the others. I need to learn to stop doing that, it's just that I'm enjoying writing this so much I want to keep going! 


	7. Ron's realizations

Ginny sighed with ecstasy as she lay next to Harry in bed. Harry, she thought, looked adorable when he was sleeping. Normally he was so alert, so guarded. To see him like this, curled up; peaceful. She felt a thrill knowing that she was the only one who could see Harry this way. She moved in closer to the warmth of his chest and laced her fingers into his, trying to capture the moment in her mind so she would never forget. She fell asleep again but it couldn't have been for more that a few minutes before she was woken by loud footsteps echoing up the stairs.

Amazingly, Harry was still fast asleep despite the noise.

'My goodness, he can sleep through anything!' she thought. But with a sudden fear she realized that the footsteps had stopped just outside her door.

She ducked under the cover and made sure she was completely covered and inconspicuous.

"See, all's well here. She must have just ducked out for a walk or something." That was Mrs. Figgs voice, she noticed.

"Indeed, Arabella. Let's go and let Harry sleep." That was Lupin. What on earth were they doing here? They must have noticed I wasn't in my bed! Oh dear!

"I guess, sorry to come barging in." OH. MY. GOD. That was Ron!

"Well you do tend to jump to conclusions." And Hermione! Ginny inwardly screamed and prayed Harry didn't wake up and give them away.

Thankfully she heard them turning to leave then.

"Wait!" Hermione's voice said. Oh no!

"What is it 'Mione?" Ron asked.

Hermione hesitated then said, "Oh, er, it's nothing at all. Let's go, shall we."

But unfortunately for Ginny, Hermione was not a very good liar.

"'Mione, what…" Ron began but then suddenly there was silence followed by a gasp.

'Oh please NO!' Ginny thought.

Just at that moment, Harry woke up. He raised himself from the bed taking the covers with him and revealing Ginny. She felt his body tense as he noticed the others staring at him. Ginny peaked around Harry's back and saw what had caused everyone to gasp. Ron was holding his wand outstretched and dangling from the end where he had picked it up was Ginny's nightgown.

There was a shocked silence for a moment where everyone froze unable to do anything. Hermione was the first to move. She picked up Ginny's nightgown and tossed it to her. Ginny gave Hermione a meek 'thanks' and pulled it on.

Harry got the idea from her and pulled on his boxers.

"Well, this is none of my business," Lupin said from the corner, "Shall we make breakfast, Arabella?" Taking the hint, Mrs. Figg followed Lupin out of the room and down the stairs. The kitchen door banged shut and that was when Ron made his move.

With a fierce yell, Ron ran at Harry on the bed and began attacking him in every way he could. Lashing out with arms and legs and hitting any part of Harry he could reach.

"Ron, no!" Hermione screamed, but Ron would not relent.

Harry was not fighting back, he was trying to get away but not hurt Ron, Ginny caught bits of what he was saying.

"Ron, geez…being such a prat…not gonna hit you. Well, fine then!" And then Harry punched Ron across the face. Ron staggered backward at the blow and Harry took the opportunity to get off the bed and stand up and run at Ron. Ginny sighed and left the two boys as they were, let them blow off a bit of steam. She hurried off into her room and dressed, when she returned they were still at it but Hermione seemed to be trying to stop them now as both boys were bleeding from several cuts and bloody noses.

"Alright, that's enough!" Hermione finally shouted, she was half crying with exasperation and both boys stopped and looked up at her.

"Sorry, Hermione," they both mumbled.

'Unbelievable!' Ginny thought, 'how does she do that?' but now it was her turn to take action. She stepped in-between her brother and her boyfriend and grabbed them both by the top rims of their ears with a pincer like grip.

"Ok, Ron you are going to have to COOL off and realize that I am very nearly a grown woman and I can make my own choices and if choosing to sleep with my boyfriend is one of them then you just have to live with that!" Ron was panting from the fight and from the pain on his ear but seemed to refuse to back down. She pulled harder on his ear.

"Are we agreed?"

He panted heavily once more.

"Yes,' he whispered hoarsely.

"After all it's not like it's my first time."

The whole room gasped. She had NOT meant to say that. Oh GOD!

Ron widened his eyes in shock and outrage before storming out of the room.

Hermione whispered an apology on Ron's behalf and followed him out of the room.

"Uh, Ginny?" Harry spoke.

"Oh, Sorry, Harry!" she said finally letting go of his ear. "I just got so worked up!"

Harry rubbed his sore ear with his finger before getting up and dressing.

* * *

A few minutes later they entered the kitchen. Ron was staring holes into his bacon and didn't acknowledge their presence at all. Hermione gave a weak smile and Mrs. Figg seemed to be pretending nothing had happened at all.

"Er, Harry, mind if I have a word?" It was Lupin and he gestured toward the study across the hall. Harry followed him into it and took a seat in a dusty, uncomfortable high-backed chair. Lupin sat down on a couch that was just as dusty.

"Harry, this is a little awkward, but as your parents are unable, and Sirius is… well, I suppose the duty falls to me, I doubt your aunt and uncle ever… but all the same…"

"Remus?" Harry asked, "Mind telling me what were talking about?"

Lupin seemed jolted out of his line of thought.

"Yes, of course. We're talking about the Talk."

"What talk?"

"The Talk. The sex talk."

Harry's eyes widened in understanding, "Oh! Remus, you don't have to. I mean, we learned that stuff at school. Madame Pomfrey did a special class for all the sixth years."

Lupin sighed in relief. "Oh, thank Merlin for that!" he chuckled.

"You know, it's a shame James isn't here now,"

"Why's that?"

"Well, because I'd owe him a spot of money today," Lupin smiled down at Harry with a familiar look in his eyes. Harry loved that look because it always came when Lupin was about to tell Harry a story about the marauders.

"When you were just a baby Harry, this was just a joke, mind you, but we all placed bets on how old you would be when you… you know."

"WHAT!" Harry cried.

Lupin laughed hard. "Yes, James betted sixteen, it was the same age for him," Lupin winked at Harry.

"What did everyone else bet?" Harry asked curiously.

"Well, I said seventeen. Peter, who never really thought for himself decided on the same. Sirius, however, thought you'd take after him and be the same age he was."

"When was that?" Harry asked anxiously. Lupin looked down at him with a grin.

"Fourteen,"

"Wow," Harry wanted to ask how much they had bet but stopped himself when he saw the look on Lupin's face. He knew then that the conversation was over because Lupin had slipped into that melancholy state of missing his friends. Harry pitied him. He couldn't imagine bearing the loss or betrayal of one of his friends, they were all he had.

They both re-entered the kitchen and finished up their breakfasts. No one was speaking much after the fiasco that morning, but Lupin went around healing Ron and Harry's injuries.

When everyone had finished it was time for them all to go home. (Lupin had cancelled the lesson for that day).

"Bye Harry, I'll see you at the burrow in a few weeks for your birthday," Hermione said giving him a hug before disappearing through the fire place.

Ron merely grunted at Harry and followed. Lupin shook Harry's hand and also disappeared.

"Well, I'll see you soon Harry," Ginny whispered to him

"Not soon enough,' he replied to Ginny, kissing her tenderly.

"I'll talk to Ron, he'll be ok."

"I hope so."

Ginny looked up from Harry and called up the stairs, "Sorry about all this Mrs. Figg and thanks!" She gave Harry one more kiss and stepped into the flames.

"The Burrow," she called and was gone an instant later. Mrs. Figg had disappeared upstairs so Harry got the idea he was supposed to let himself out and headed back to the Dursleys. The next few weeks would be pretty boring, but Harry would sustain himself with thought of being back at the Burrow for his seventeenth birthday. Ron would have cooled down by then, Ginny will manage it.

'After all,' he thought, 'there's nothing my girl can't do.'

* * *

AN: Finally! A new chapter! Sorry for the long wait everyone. I was up at a cottage for a week and then when I got back I was trying to hang out with my friend Layla as much as I could. She's going to Japan for a year tomorrow cry

In a little over a week I'm going to Australia for the rest of the month so hopefully I can finish before I go. Hope you all liked this chapter, I tried not to make this one too fluffy and there's going to be action soon! First with the ministry (hint go back to chapter one, Percy's conversation with Scrimgeour) and later with Death Eaters. As always though, feedback is appreciated.


	8. Birthday Surprises

Harry had spent the last three boring weeks on a routine of brooding, training, doing chores for the Dursley's and brooding some more. Today was no exception to the cycle and he was currently working in the Dursley's garden; weeding.

"You're not coming back in the house until you finish!" his aunt had shouted at him. He had been given this job many times before so he knew better than to so much as go in for a glass of water before the garden was free of weeds.

The afternoon sun bore down on him as he worked and his bare back was beginning to burn.

When he finally finished he stood up to admire his work.

'_Even aunt Petunia won't be able to find something wrong with this_,' he thought proudly.

Harry slid his shirt back on and headed for the door. However when he pulled on the handle, nothing happened. He pulled again, harder this time but the door wouldn't budge; he was locked out.

He knocked on the door calling out for the Dursley's but no one came. Harry slid round to the side fence and stood on his tiptoes to see over the top; the Dursley's car was gone.

'They've probably just gone to run some errands,' he figured and sat down in the shade of the house and waited.

An hour passed before Harry began to get impatient. The sun was beginning to set and bugs were coming out, annoying Harry greatly. He began to formulate a plan in his mind.

Along the wall was a vine fence with holes he could use for footing. Once he got level with his bedroom window though, he would still have to jump a foot to the left and somehow open the window, thankfully he had left it unlocked.

"Ok, go!" Harry whispered to himself and began climbing.

It was hard, the vines got in his way and scratched his bare and burnt arms and legs. His arms quickly got tired and he groaned with the effort each time he pulled himself up further. When he got as high as he would go he paused for a moment, he was several feet from the ground and it would hurt if he fell, but he decided to take his chances.

He pushed off sideways from the wall towards his window and grabbed the edge with his fingertips. His feet scrambled below him for some hold but there was none.

His fingers wouldn't hold him there for long so he lifted one hand up to the window and struggled to lift it up but it was hard to get hold with no handle.

It shifted slightly, Harry pushed harder. An inch! Harry groaned as he lifted his arm to push it open the rest of the way.

"Uh, Harry? What exactly are you doing?"

The voice startled Harry, and as he was trying to turn to see who had spoken, he lost his hold on the window and fell to the ground below.

"Oh, Harry!" another voice called out. Stiffly, Harry lifted his head and saw Ron and Hermione in the backyard of number four Privet Drive.

Hermione had run over to him and was helping him up, looking concerned. Ron looked as if he was fighting laughter.

"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, fine," he replied looking up at his bedroom window still only open a couple of inches.

"I got locked out," he explained. Ron, it seemed couldn't hold it in anymore and laughed.

"You looked bloody ridiculous, mate!"

Harry laughed too imagining what he must have looked like.

"Ron!" Hermione scolded, "Harry could have really been hurt!"

"Its fine, 'Mione, honestly," Harry said seriously. Then more quietly, so only Hermione could hear he said, "Does this mean Ron's forgiven me?"

Hermione finally smiled and said to Harry, "Actually, he's been acting like he has a selective memory. He's pretending it never happened."

"Well, whatever works for him, I guess," Harry said, happy to have his best friend back. Hermione ran to the back door and pulled out her wand.

"Alohomora," she whispered and Harry heard the click of the door unlocking.

The three friends sat at the kitchen table and Harry poured them all glasses of water, he was dehydrated from being in the sun all day.

"So what are you two doing here?" he asked.

"That's obvious!" said Ron, still in a good mood, "We've come to get you! It's your birthday tomorrow!"

"Yeah," replied Harry, "but I didn't think you'd be coming until then,"

"Well we couldn't let you suffer here for another night," Ron shrugged.

"Ok, I'll get my stuff!" Harry exclaimed forgetting that his knees hurt from his fall, he ran up the stairs.

'_I'm leaving the Dursley's! I'm never coming back!'_ he chanted like a mantra in his head.

He haphazardly threw all his possessions into his trunk and let Hedwig out to fly to the Burrow on her own. Ron apparated off taking the trunk with him, Hermione was going to apparate with Harry as she was more skilled than Ron and it was harder to carry living things than inanimate objects.

Just as they were about to go, the front door burst open and in poured the Dursley's. They all froze when they saw Harry and Hermione standing in the front hall.

"What's going on here, boy?" Vernon asked, staring down angrily at the two teenagers.

"Uncle Vernon," Harry began, "I'm leaving." Here Harry paused for a moment.

"It's my seventeenth birthday tomorrow, which, in my world, makes me a legal adult. So I'm going and I'm not coming back."

Vernon eyed him warily for a moment as if afraid Harry was joking. Then Vernon smiled, the first time Harry had seen him smile when it wasn't out of malice.

"Be gone with you then," Vernon said and headed up the stairs.

Dudley blew Harry a raspberry before following his father up the stairs.

"Well, bye," Harry said awkwardly to aunt Petunia. Then she did the most surprising thing she had done since the night Dementors had attacked Harry and Dudley. This time, however was much stranger; she hugged Harry.

She had never hugged him before, not even as a baby but now she held him tightly.

"Be safe," she said to him and Harry saw tears in her eyes. He understood, though she had never loved him, he was still her sister's child and she knew that he was in danger and, despite herself, she was worried.

"Write from time to time will you? Just to let us know your safe." Harry nodded and Aunt Petunia stood up and resumed her usual cruel demeanor.

Hermione, who had watched the exchange in silence, grasped Harry's hand and then he felt the familiar feeling of being squished as Number four vanished from sight

* * *

When Harry opened his eyes he was standing in the Weasley's front yard. He let go of Hermione's hand and stepped through the door into the Burrow.

"Harry, dear!" cried Mrs. Weasley, jumping up from her seat by the fire and rushing over to hug him.

"How are you? Are you hungry? Everyone's gone to bed already but I can cook something for you if you'd like."

"No thanks," he said, "I'd rather just go to bed." She smiled at him and he followed her up the stairs.

"Here you are, then," she said arriving at the second floor landing.

"Am I not staying with Ron?" he asked.

"Oh no dear, this is your home now for as long as you wish to stay. This is Bill's old room, but now it's yours." She said smiling widely at him.

"I… thank you," he stammered. She hugged him tightly one last time and headed up to the next floor, with Hermione hurrying behind. Harry was pleased to see that his trunk was already in his room and he changed into his pajamas and slipped into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

"HARRY!" was the first sound Harry heard upon waking the next morning, followed by the feeling of his ribs being crushed. When he opened his eyes all he saw was a red blur. Then someone was kissing him and he forgot all about the pain in his chest from being jumped on.

"Ginny…" he whispered, breathing in the smell of her hair and enjoying the feeling of embracing her.

"Ahem!" said a voice in the doorway. Harry broke away from Ginny and turned to see Ron and Hermione standing in the doorway. Harry was thankful to see that Ron didn't appear angry. 'Selective memory' he remembered Hermione saying and inwardly chuckled.

Harry was both relieved and sad when Ginny slid off him to sit beside him.

"It's time for breakfast, you two. And Happy birthday, Harry" Hermione said from the doorway.

"Happy birthday, mate!" Ron said and with that Hermione left dragging Ron after her.

Harry got out of bed and quickly dressed then he and Ginny headed downstairs arm-in-arm.

Harry enjoyed a nice breakfast; as usual Mrs. Weasley was piling his plate with enough food to feed five people. It was just Ron, Hermione, Harry, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley as all the other Weasley men were at work.

Harry ate quietly taking pleasure in listening to Hermione's story about taking her muggle driving test and the trouble she had had with highway driving.

"Hermione, why are you even bothering with it?" Ron asked, exasperated.

"Well, you never know when it will come in handy and besides my parents want me to do it,"

Ron tutted at her through a mouthful of sausage.

Mrs. Weasley was giving Harry more toast when she noticed his arms which had begun to peel from the sunburn.

"My Goodness! Harry, how did you do that?" she asked him.

"Oh, I was weeding the garden yesterday," he said sheepishly. Everyone was now staring at him and he felt very self-conscious.

Mrs. Weasley left the room and returned a moment later with a bottle of creamy potion.

"This will help heal the burns, Harry," she said as she began spreading it on his arms.

"Mrs. Weasley, thanks but I can do it…" Harry began but was cut off when Mrs. Weasley lifted his shirt to put some on his stomach and back. He yelped and jumped out of his chair.

"Thanks, uh, but I can take it from here," he said to her as politely as he could. He was annoyed to see Hermione, Ron and Ginny were all giggling.

"But, Harry, how will you reach all the spots on your back?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"I'll help him," Ginny said, surprising everyone. Ron immediately stopped laughing then looked away and started whistling as if he were in his own world. Harry snorted at his friend's behavior.

Mrs. Weasley adopted a knowing look, and said that it was a good idea, then winked at Ginny and resumed breakfast. Ginny blushed but grabbed Harry's hand and the potion and dragged him off.

Ginny lead him to the third floor bathroom and gently removed his shirt to put cream on him. Harry had other ideas though.

He started kissing Ginny but she pulled away from his fiercely.

"Harry, not now!" she said annoyed and began spreading the cream along his arms, back, stomach, legs and shoulders.

Harry was highly aroused by the whole process but Ginny kept shooting him looks that seemed to indicate 'Don't you dare try anything!' so he held himself back.

When Ginny was finished and had put the cream away, Harry seized his chance and snaked his arms around her waist and tried to kiss her.

"Harry, please," she said.

"What?" Harry asked deeply confused. He looked into her eyes and was shocked to see tears there. "What's the matter?" he asked, full of concern.

"You!" she cried as tears began pouring from her eyes.

"Ginny, what…?" Harry asked, still confused.

"This!" she said, indicating his sunburns, "I hate those Dursleys! Oh, Harry, it must have been so awful for you living in that horrible cupboard with those awful people for so long." She hugged him tightly, "I hate to think of you suffering like that."

"Ginny…" Harry began.

"No, Harry, I know your just going to shrug it off like it's nothing but it's something. And now they've gone so far as to physically hurt you! What was Dumbledore thinking sending you there?"

"Ginny, please, calm down. None of that matters now, I'm not going back to them. I'm here with you right now, and I'm never leaving you again."

Ginny sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"Sorry for the waterworks, I'm just being silly," she apologized.

"Don't worry about it."

Harry was thinking about the last time he'd seen tears in her eyes it had been on the night they'd first made love but he had been too preoccupied to ask about it then.

"Ginny, that night, in the room of requirement…" Ginny nodded to show she knew what he meant.

"You were almost crying before we, you know. Why?"

Ginny took a deep breath and said, "Because you said, you loved me. Well you didn't mean to say it but you…"

Harry cupped her chin and lifted her mouth to his and kissed her.

"I love you, Gin. More than anything," Harry said with all seriousness, looking deep into her eyes to make sure she understood.

"I love you too, Harry!" she exclaimed jumping back into his arms and kissing him fiercely all over his face and neck, and he kissed her back, deep and passionately.

After several minutes they broke apart.

"I almost forgot!" Ginny said rushing out of the room. Harry took the opportunity to dress and was just pulling his t-shirt on when Ginny came back into the bathroom carrying a small rectangular box.

"I was going to give it to you later, but now seems right," she said handing Harry the box.

He opened it to find a shining silver watch gleaming inside. His previous watch had broken a month ago and this one was truly magnificent and must have cost more than Ginny could afford.

"Ginny, I…"

"Don't worry Harry; I didn't empty our Gringotts vault paying for it. My grandmother Weasley gave it to my grandfather years ago. I made a little addition to it though. Turn it over." Harry did and found an inscription on the back:

_Yours,_

_Always_

_HP&_

_GW_

"Thank you," was all Harry managed to say before he busied himself devouring Ginny's mouth with his own.

"Well! That's one way to say thank you!" Ginny, said laughing when Harry had finally finished.

"I love you, Ginny."

"Happy Birthday, love."

* * *

In honour of Harry's seventeenth birthday, the Weasley's decided to throw Harry a birthday party, figuring that he had probably never had one with the Dursleys. Members of the Order attended including, Mad-eye Moody, Lupin, Tonks, Hagrid and Mundungus. All the Weasley brothers were there (except Percy) as well as Luna and Fleur and Harry's roommates from Hogwarts; Dean, Seamus and Neville.

Harry greeted them all, happy to see them again. He was surprised at the number of gifts he had accumulated. He had gotten books, large amounts of Honeydukes' best candy, joke items from Fred and George, the usual sweater from Mrs. Weasley and many other various items.

Tables had been set up in the back yard and Mrs. Weasley had cooked a fantastic feast for them all. The only interruption in the fun had been when Seamus accidentally knocked over Harry's cup and spilt butterbeer (brought by Hagrid from the three Broomsticks) all over the table cloth. Thankfully, Bill had done a cleaning charm before it set in and Seamus had gone to get Harry a refill.

Lupin had pulled Harry aside after this and had given him his gift.

"This, as I believe you know, was Dumbledore's." Lupin said holding out a pensieve to Harry. Harry was speechless.

"When Dumbledore died, his memories were erased. I have a feeling he would have wanted you to have it."

Harry muttered his thanks to Lupin and took the pensieve from him.

"Harry, my addition to the gift was to put in a few of my own memories for you to see. They're various memories of your parents and the marauders over the years." Lupin winked at Harry and rejoined the party.

Harry followed him back and was met with cries from Fred and George and the other Gryffindors for a speech. At first Harry refused, but realized he might not get another chance to tell everyone how he felt.

"Um, hi," Harry said awkwardly stepping up onto a chair, all eyes were on him.

"Thank you all for coming and for the gifts. I'm not really very good at speeches so I'll just say a few things. Very soon, I will be leaving to do something I had intended to do with Dumbledore," he paused and everyone gave a moment's silence to Dumbledore's memory, "as he is unable to come with me, I have to do it myself. I don't really know what's going to happen when I go, so I just want to express my extreme thanks to all of you. You've all been there for me in one way or another and I want you to know how grateful I am for that."

"A lot of people pity me for everything that has happened, and it certainly has been no picnic, but, I count myself lucky. I have wonderful friends who have become the family Voldemort took from me; I don't know where I'd be without you. You all give me hope, Thank you."

Harry stepped off the chair and was met with a hail of applause, Mrs. Weasley, who was crying openly, practically threw herself on Harry and hugged him so tight he couldn't breathe.

It was now time for everyone to leave. Harry shook hands with everyone as they left and only when the last guest had left (Neville, he'd come back after forgetting his cloak) did Harry really realize how tired he was.

He dragged his feet up the stairs and crawled into bed as his vision began to blur. He didn't bother to change out of his clothes or pull off his glasses; he just collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep instantly.

* * *

Harry awoke the following morning with a pounding head.

"I didn't drink that much!" he thought to himself remembering how he had passed out last night, barely making it to his bed.

Harry sat up and wondered how he could have stayed asleep with all the light pouring in through the window.

'_What time is it?_' he wondered. He got out of bed, feeling groggy and went into the bathroom and washed his face which made him feel a bit better.

He ambled down into the kitchen and noticed that it was empty.

'_That's odd_,' he thought. He looked out the window and didn't see them in the back yard.

"They can't still be asleep!" he said, eyeing the clock; it was quarter past noon.

Beginning to get worried now, Harry ran up the stairs and checked Ron's room; empty.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's room; empty.

He ran to Ginny and Hermione's room, feeling a slight panic build up in his chest. He burst through the door and, like the others, it was empty.

Harry sat down on the bed, wondering what could have happened.

'_Where are they all? Are they safe? If they left why didn't they wake me or leave me a note?' _

Then a thought passed through Harry's mind. He remembered; there had been a note on the kitchen table. He bolted down the stairs into the kitchen. He grabbed at the note but had to put it down to read it because his hands were shaking.

_**If you want to see your girlfriend and her family again come to the warehouse on Dunston Street, London.**_

Harry re-read the note twice before bolting to his room. He grabbed his Firebolt and his invisibility cloak and flew for London at top speed.

**AN: Wow! Loooong chapter. It's possibly the last one before I leave on Friday and after that I wont be able to post anything until September. I might post another but figured that just in case this was the last one, I'd make it really long. (Although I also ended with a cliffhanger, I'm so evil heheh). Please Review, always appreciated. Toodles for now!**


	9. A visit with the minister

The wind bit at Harry's cheeks as he flew as fast as his Firebolt would carry him. But Harry was numb to it, all he felt was empty. He wasn't allowing himself to worry because he knew if he thought about what he might find once he got to London, he might just breakdown.

With determination, Harry flew for almost an hour before he arrived in London. He landed and asked the first person he saw how to get to Dunston Street but no one knew. Many people didn't even stop when he questioned them; probably thinking he was just a stupid teenager. Harry ran through the streets asking everyone who passed him not even worrying about what they thought of his carrying a broom.

Finally, after several agonizing minutes an ordinary looking man in a business suit stopped Harry.

"What's the matter, kid?' he asked.

"How do I get to Dunston Street?" Harry asked in a panic.

"Just what are you doing down there?" the man asked. Harry was extremely annoyed with this man's calm expression. Didn't he understand the hurry Harry was in?

"Do you know where it is?" Harry almost shouted.

"I do," said the man, "why don't you let me give you a ride. My car's right over there."

Harry nodded eagerly. He knew it was a rule not to get into a car with strangers but he could certainly handle one muggle, he had his wand after all. And besides, he didn't know how far Dunston Street was.

Harry climbed into the passenger seat of an old Pontiac Sunfire and stared out the window as they drove looking for any sign of sinister activity. If he had been paying more attention to the road he might have noticed that other cars seemed to jump out of the way of the Sunfire and it seemed to fit into small spaces that a normal car wouldn't have.

After a very short drive Harry saw a factory looming in front of the car. The man pulled over right in front of it as if he knew that's where Harry was going.

Harry jumped out of the car and shouted a quick thanks over his shoulder. He knew he shouldn't just be rushing in, that he should probably come up with some kind of clever plan but who knew how much time he had?

The hair stood up on the back of Harry's neck as he wondered what would be waiting for him on the other side of the doors.

He was shocked to discover as he burst into the building that it was almost entirely empty.

The factory had obviously not been used in years and there were a few boxes lying around and in the corner was a single desk and at the desk sat Rufus Scrimgeour.

"Well hello, Harry. I was beginning to wonder if you were coming. Would you like to take a seat?" Scrimgeour said as if it were just another day at the office.

Cautiously Harry slid into a seat opposite Scrimgeour on the other side of the desk.

"Well Harry, I've brought you here to ask you once again if you'd like to come and work for the ministry. You've had a month to think about it and you're a legal adult now I thought maybe you had changed your mind."

Harry ran this over in his head. It was just unbelievable. He knew that the ministry could be crooked but to kidnap innocent civilians for something like this? There must be a mistake.

"I thought that maybe recent _circumstances_ might have caused you to change your mind," Scrimgeour said raising his eyebrows.

'_They must be more desperate that I thought'_ Harry mused.

"And if I refuse?" he asked, wondering what would happen to the Weasleys, certainly the ministry would never go so far as to kill innocents.

"Well then we'd be extremely unhappy with you, Potter. There would of course be consequences." Scrimgeour winked at Harry in a manner that suggested Harry's worst fears.

Harry stared at Scrimgeour in anger. For nearly a full minute they stared silently at each other. When Scrimgeour didn't look away and remained looking confident, Harry knew it was true.

"Alright' he said dejectedly, "I'll do it."

"Excellent, Potter!" Scrimgeour said happily. "If you'll just sign this form please?"

With a sigh Harry grabbed a quill from the desk and signed a contract that had just materialized. He didn't even bother to read it over; he knew he had no choice.

"Excellent," Scrimgeour said again when Harry had signed. "Now there's a ministry press conference on Thursday that we'll need you to make an appearance at. So I'll see you at three."

"Fine. Now where are the Weasleys?" Harry demanded.

"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about." Scrimgeour said.

"What? But the note…" Angry that Scrimgeour had backstabbed him Harry had stood up and was advancing on Scrimgeour, his wand raised.

But suddenly he felt a hand grab his wand arm and he stopped in his tracks.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, boy" a voice said. Harry turned and gasped, the man holding his arm was the same man who had given him a ride earlier.

The man pulled on Harry's arm and dragged him towards a corner of the room.

"Where are they, damnit!" Harry shouted at him.

"They'll be at home when you get there," the man said then shot fire out of his wand. He pulled powder out of his pocket and the flames turned green.

"Go," he told Harry.

Feeling slightly relieved but still angry Harry stepped into the flames and shouted "The Burrow" then whirled away in a heap of green fire.

* * *

When Harry stopped moving he opened his eyes to find himself in the Weasley's kitchen where they were all sitting around the table chatting casually.

"Ginny!" Harry shouted running to her and snatching her up in his arms.

Ginny laughed and hugged back.

"Well hello to you to!" she said happily, "Harry what's gotten into you?" then looking down at him and seeing the soot all over him she asked 'Where have you been? We thought you might have gone into the village or something. Are those the same clothes you wore yesterday?"

"I… Ginny, are you alright?"

"Um, yeah Harry I'm fine. Why?"

Harry looked up at Ron, Hermione, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, the twins, Bill, Charlie and Fleur. They were all looking at him curiously.

"What… What happened this morning?" he asked them all.

"Well, actually, Percy showed up here this morning," Mrs. Weasley began happily, "he said he wanted to take us all out to Diagon Alley for lunch so we could talk."

"Git," Fred muttered but Mrs. Weasley appeared to be ignoring it as she continued.

"We tried to wake you up but you were sound asleep so we left you a note,"

"A note?" Harry asked and scanned the room. There on the counter was the note from that morning telling him to come to London. But when he looked at it now, it was different. It was indeed a note from the Weasley's saying they had gone out with Percy.

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked from the table.

'_They couldn't wake me up, but why was I so tired?' _Then Harry remembered, Seamus had knocked over his pumpkin juice and gotten him a refill. Seamus had been acting strange all that night. He'd been very quiet and subdued. Then it struck Harry. Seamus had drugged him! Seamus had been under the imperious curse! Then Percy had come that morning and gotten the Weasley's out of the house and put a charm on the note so it read differently. He had kept the Weasleys away so that Harry would agree to whatever Scrimgeour had said. And Harry had believed all of it.

"No, Hermione, I'm not so sure I am," he said as he realized what he'd just gotten himself into.

* * *

AN: Yay! Finally an update! I'm SOOOO sorry that took me so long! But once I got back from my trip I had school and Forever Fandom went down for a while so here it finally is! The Pontiac Sunfire is in honour of my friend Marie buying her very own car today, which is of course a Sunfire. Well hope you all liked it and post reviews! 


	10. Gin and gin

"I AM GOING TO KILL HIM!" Ginny screamed as soon as Harry had finished filling everyone in on what Percy's true motive had been. All the Weasley brothers nodded in agreement.

Harry was afraid to look at Mrs. Weasley. He knew she had been so excited with the thought that Percy had wanted to reconcile (for that had been what they had discussed at lunch earlier that day) and the news that it was all a lie was sure to devastate her.

"I am honestly going to kill that bastard!"

"Ginny, language!" Mr. Weasley scolded, but Ginny didn't seem to care as she continued pacing the kitchen and muttering insults under her breath.

Everyone was shocked and enraged by this news, but none regretted it so much as Harry and perhaps Mrs. Weasley who sat down next to Harry and said to him, "Harry, I am so sorry for this,"

"It's ok Mrs. Weasley, you couldn't have known. I'm sorry about Percy."

Harry felt incredibly guilty about driving even larger wedges between Percy and the Weasleys. He saw tears pooling in Mrs. Weasley's eyes, and he hated Percy even more than before.

* * *

Dinner that evening was a somber affair, the events of that day hung over the Weasley's kitchen like an evil storm cloud. Hardly anyone spoke except when Ron accidentally sat on Fred and George's latest invention (which they had left there before heading back to London earlier) and ended up tap dancing across the table.

Harry volunteered to wash the dishes after dinner and everyone had gone upstairs. Hermione and Ginny had both been trying to catch his eye at all evening. Knowing they would want him to talk about what had happened, he decided to avoid it for as long as possible. He didn't want to dwell on the fact that two days later he would be at a ministry press conference and it was his own stupid fault.

So when he had finished the dishes and was heading up to his room, he decided on doing something different. He summoned a coat from his room and headed out the front door.

* * *

Ginny woke up much later that night and looked at her clock, it was just past midnight. She realized she must have fallen asleep while waiting for Harry. Hermione was asleep in the bed next to hers so she presumed Ron would have already gone to sleep as well. She crept out of bed quietly, not wanting to wake Hermione, and headed to Harry's room.

She slid open his door, just a crack, she had intended only to check on him to ease her own discomfort but he wasn't in his bed.

'He's probably just in the washroom,' she thought, so she sat down on his bed and waited. Five minutes passed and Harry didn't come so she went and checked the bathroom. He wasn't there either.

She went downstairs to check. He wasn't there either, but neither, she noticed, were his shoes.

Having fallen asleep in her clothes she didn't need to change before heading out the door. Harry's broom had still been in his room, he couldn't apparate yet, and she knew he had an aversion to floo powder, so wherever he had gone, he had to have walked. She decided to check the village first.

Most of the shops were closed but among them was an open, and very raucous bar called the Roaring Lion. She went in to ask if anyone had seen Harry but was not at all prepared for what she found.

There at the front of the bar, was Harry, an empty tankard and several empty shot glasses in front of him. He waved another full shot glass in his hand as he emphatically told the crowd some tale that seemed to have them all laughing pretty hard.

"And he just tilted his head, right! And to me it looked like it meant 'if you gotta' so I certainly did!" With these words all the men around Harry let out a cheer and they all raised their glasses (including Harry) and downed their shots.

"You're all right, kid!" someone shouted at Harry and clapped his back. "I'm buying you the next round!"

"I think he's had enough," Ginny said stepping in.

"Gin!" Harry shouted, "Haha! Gin, look see!" he said holding up a bottle of gin. "It's no firewhisky but it hits the spot!"

"You've never even had firewhisky," Ginny muttered more to herself than to Harry as she pulled him off the bar stool. Unfortunately though, Harry appeared to have lost the ability to use his legs as he promptly fell over.

"C'mon Harry, learn to live with gravity," she said pulling him up. She half supported and half dragged him out of the bar and onto the street.

"C'mon Harry, you're going to need to walk for me to get you home! I can't do magic yet remember?"

"You're pretty" was all Harry said to this. In no mood to be swayed by idle romanticisms she ignored his comment and continued to drag him as far as she could. But eventually Harry just collapsed onto the ground giggling.

"You giggle?" Ginny asked incredulously, "Oh boy, starting tomorrow you are never living this down."

She grabbed his arms and started pulling and dragging, Harry seemed ignorant to her struggles and he simply lay limp on the ground before her. Wondering what to do, Ginny sat on the ground next to him and rolled her eyes while trying to think of some sort of plan to get home.

"Is that Ginny Weasley?" a voice spoke above her. She looked up at the man before her, he seemed familiar but she couldn't place his face in the dark.

"It's Amos Diggory. What's going on?" he asked kindly.

"Oh, well it's just… Harry," she said indicating her boyfriend who seemed to be having a nice nap in the dirt.

"Do you need some help?"

Relief spread through her.

"That would be wonderful!" she said.

Mr. Diggory winked at her and, with a quick look around to see no one was watching, he pulled out his wand.

He levitated Harry off the ground and walked with Ginny and the floating Harry towards the Burrow.

"Does this happen often?" Mr. Diggory asked with a weak chuckle indicating the floating Harry.

"Oh no! This is the first time. Harry's just… well, he's been through a lot."

"I can imagine." A dark look came over Mr. Diggory's face for a moment, "Ginny, is it… is it true what their saying about him? That he's some sort of… Chosen One?"

Ginny knew Harry didn't want anyone to know, but when she looked at Mr. Diggory who had lost so much before the war even started, she couldn't lie.

"Yes… he is."

Mr. Diggory wasn't surprised or shocked he simply nodded in total and complete understanding, and, Ginny noticed, gripped his wand tightly. The rest of the walk was in silence until they reached the burrow.

"Um, Mr. Diggory?"

"Amos," he told her.

"Amos, would you mind helping me take him up the stairs? Only everyone else is already asleep."

"No problem at all," he said with a kind smile.

Once Harry was safely in bed and Mr. Diggory had headed home, Ginny undressed Harry and put him in his pajamas. She even tucked him in. She stared at him lovingly for a moment before he began to stir.

"Ginny?" he asked.

"Yes, Harry, I'm here," She closed her eyes to kiss him but then her lips touched Harry's ear instead of lips. She opened her eyes to see he had turned on his side and was throwing up over the side of the bed.

Just as she was letting out a few choice curse words, she looked back at her boyfriend and found he had already passed out cold.

* * *

AN: Yay! Two chappies in two days! Hurrah! Thanks for the drinking idea, ilostar. I know I didn't use the merlot but I thought the Gin thing was kind of amusing lol. I know I'm easily amused. Lol.

Next Chapter: the ministry press conference and some real action at last!

Oh and by the way, in case you didn't know the story Harry was telling to everyone in the bar was how he and Ginny had got together. And I know that the book actually said Ron's tilt of the head seemed to indicate 'well, if you must' but Harry was drunk so you can't blame him for getting it wrong. Lol.


	11. Trouble at the Ministry

Ginny awoke on Thursday morning and stretched her hand over to wrap around Harry only to find that he wasn't there. Ever since the incident with the Minister, Harry had been fairly quiet, brooding or possibly figuring out what the bloody hell to say at the ministry press conference. He was spending a lot of his time with Ron and Hermione now though he snuck into Ginny's room every night so that they could be together.

Ginny rolled over and saw she was the room's only occupant but there was a note on the pillow next to her.

_Gin,_

_Got up early to go for a walk. See you at breakfast. _

_Love, Harry_

'_Not overly romantic'_, she thought to herself '_but at least he remembered to write a note'_.

With a sigh she dragged herself out of bed and put on the casual dress robes she had picked out for herself yesterday for the press conference. She descended the stairs and was met with the smell of frying bacon.

"Morning, mum," Ginny greeted her mother as she sat down at the table.

"Morning, dear. Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes," Mrs. Weasley said, trying to sound perky but with obvious strain in her voice. The cause of the strain was evident a few minutes later when the Golden Trio, Ron Hermione and Harry entered the kitchen a moment later. Harry looked considerably downtrodden and sleepless but a smile warmed his face as he came and sat with Ginny, taking her hand in his.

Ron, Hermione and Harry all exchanged looks as Mrs. Weasley set the food on the table. Ginny knew better than to ask what it was about. As much as she and Harry shared with each other there was still a part of him that was Ron and Hermione's. Sometimes it made Ginny jealous but she accepted that things would always be that way because those three had been through so much together, and she was more of a tag-along in their adventures.

Breakfast was eaten in a subdued silence and Ginny noticed that Harry barely touched his bacon sandwiches, which Mrs. Weasley kept pouring onto his plate.

When breakfast was eaten and Mrs.Weasley had magicked their plates clean, it was time to go.

Ginny gave Harry a quick kiss on the cheek to reassure him before he stepped into the fire and shouted "Ministry of Magic, London" though whether this was to calm him about the conference or the floo powder, neither of them really knew.

When it was Ginny's turn to go she felt the familiar whoosh of movement and lick of the cool green flames before opening her eyes and finding herself in the main foyer of the ministry of magic.

The last time she had been here had been at the end of her fourth year when Harry had learned the prophecy about himself and Voldemort, and Sirius had died. It felt strange to see everyone moving around going about their day, not caring that only a little over a year ago a good man had died here. Ginny felt a tugging in her heart as she remembered how she had fought death eaters here, side-by-side with Harry, Ron and Hermione, and though the thought made her feel proud, she also felt slightly nervous being there, like it wasn't entirely safe.

She saw Harry standing in the middle of the room, oblivious to the bustle around him of witches and wizards going about their day. He was staring at a fading grey circle on the floor and she ran over to him to make sure he was ok. Surely if the place was affecting her so much, Harry would be even worse.

His face was blank and expressionless when she looked up at him and tentatively she spoke his name,

"Harry…"

"There used to be a fountain here," He stated with no emotion in his voice whatsoever.

"It was right here. I guess they decided getting rid of it was easier then tending to all the repairs after that night…" Now he finally looked away from the floor and met her eyes.

"You ok?" he asked gently squeezing her hand.

"Me?" she asked incredulously, "I should be asking you that!"

Harry gave her a half smile and said, "I'm fine Ginny," then on her look, "Really. I am." She met his smile and grasped his hand as they turned around to see Mrs. Weasley, Ron and Hermione patiently waiting for them by the lifts.

As they descended Ginny could feel Harry breathing heavily beside her and stepped closer to him so he would know she was there for him. He looked down at her with eyes that reminded her of puppy dogs and smiled his thanks. He let out a deep breath and they reached the 12th floor.

Mr. Weasley was waiting for them when they got out.

"Good to see you all got here on time. You all right Harry?"

"Yes sir," Harry said in a voice that was a little bit higher pitched than usual. This caused Ginny to giggle a little despite herself.

Jokingly, Harry asked, "What are you giggling at?" to which Ginny couldn't help but reply, "Well you would certainly know a giggle when you heard one wouldn't you."

Confusion crossed Harry's features followed by a sudden understanding and he shot her a warning look that seemed to say 'Don't you dare say a word!'

"Well, everyone," Mr. Weasley interrupted, "Why don't you all go through those doors on the right into the auditorium and get good seats. I'll join you in a minute after I show Harry where he needs to go."

Mrs. Weasley nodded and gave Harry one of her famous lung-crushing motherly hugs, Ron patted Harry's back in a manly fashion and said 'good luck, mate' causing Hermione to roll her eyes. Hermione leapt at Harry and gave him a tight hug she certainly had developed from Mrs. Weasleys example. Then it was Ginny's turn.

"Harry, you'll do great!" She exclaimed with as much encouragement as she could muster.

"I just wish I didn't have to do this," he sighed. Ginny gave him a hug and a long hard kiss.

"I know you can do this Harry," she said seriously, then slightly less seriously but with a big grin, "get out there and make your girlfriend proud!"

"Which one?" Harry asked innocently, feigning confusion. This earned him a slight knock on the chest by an angry Ginny who glared at him.

Harry laughed out loud and kissed her passionately (causing a few of the ministry witches heading for the auditorium to sigh romantically).

"I'll see you afterwards," Harry said looking into her eyes.

With a quick kiss on the cheek Ginny hurried after the others into the auditorium while Harry followed after Mr. Weasley.

Ginny took her seat in between her mother and Hermione, with Ron on Hermione's other side. Ron and Hermione were whispering with each other about something that was apparently very entertaining as they seemed wrapped up in their conversation. Under normal circumstances Ginny would demand to be including but for now se was two worried about Harry and spent the next 20 minutes playing with her hands and waiting anxiously as the seats around her filled up.

There were dozens of reporters, (among them was Rita Skeeter, her beady eyes squinting around the room for her next interview victim) but there was also a large number of witches and wizards, not all from the ministry. Among them she recognized several order members and Aurors strewn throughout the audience, probably stationed there in case there was trouble. The idea that the conference needed undercover Aurors in addition to the dozens of security agents at all the doors did not reassure her growing feeling of unease.

Finally the chatter quieted down and Rufus Scrimgeour stepped up to the podium with Percy standing to the side and behind him. She felt her jaw clench in anger as the minister began speaking.

He addressed some concerns about economic issues that Ginny didn't pay much attention to before he moved on.

He talked about how action needed to be taken, and urged everyone who had any information regarding Voldemort or the Death Eaters to come forward immediately. He continued on about this for a very long time before calling forth his minister of Defence to speak.

The minister of Defence, a portly man who looked somewhat past his prime talked for a full half hour about small measures that could be taken for the safety of people's families.

He eventually stepped aside and Scrimgeour resumed talking.

"As we're all aware," he spoke to the crowd, his voice magically modified, "A good wizard, a gift to the magical world, was taken from us only a little over a month ago. He was murdered by servants of He-Who-Must not be named. And for this reason, the magical community grieves. Let us take a moment's silence for Albus Dumbledore." With this Scrimgeour bowed his head and the room was silent for a full minute before Scrimgeour spoke again.

"On that note, I would like to present a friend of mine who would like to say a few words on this matter."

From behind the curtains on Scrimgeour's left side emerged a rather disgruntled and awkward looking Harry, fidgeting with note cards in his hands.

Whispers swept through the crowd as everyone expressed their surprise at seeing the boy-who-lived on the stage.

Ginny perked up in her seat paying rapt attention to Harry.

Harry stood at the podium and searched for her eyes in the crowd, when their eyes met Harry smiled and let out a deep breathe.

Harry began to speak, very awkwardly, clearly reading from the cards. He hadn't memorized them, he hadn't even written them himself because the words sounded nothing like Harry.

"This spring a… a good friend of mine was murdered. Ever since Vo…You-Know-Who killed my parents I have looked to Albus Dumbledore as a fa…father,"

'_Not entirely true'_, Ginny thought, Harry didn't even know Dumbledore existed until he was eleven. Whoever wrote this speech hadn't checked their facts. Harry was stuttering on his words as he struggled to read and look at the audience at the same time.

"We need to…" Harry paused and Ginny saw his eyes squinting at something in the back of the room.

"We need to listen to the ministry in order to stop more people, like Dumbledore and my parents from being sacrificed…" Harry's eyes were searching the room rapidly and he no longer seemed to be aware of what he was saying as he read it.

"The ministry is asking all of you to…" Ginny saw Harry's eyes widen in horror and she, along with everyone around her, spun around in their chairs to see what he was looking at. Ginny caught a quick glimpse of a familiar greasy head of hair, and that's when she felt the first explosion.

**

* * *

(AN: FINALLY! An update! I am SOOO sorry it took me so long! I've been busy with school and stuff and I kind of forgot about this. But the update is here now and there should be another one in the next few days. I'm already half done the next chapter.**


	12. Showdown

Harry walked out in front of the crowd feeling very self –conscious. Everyone began to whisper to each other, he knew it was about him but he had grown so used to it over the years that he ignored it and searched for the familiar brown eyes of his love. He found them staring right back up at him, full of reassurance and love for him. He felt his confidence boost up and he cleared his throat to speak.

"This spring a… a good friend of mine was murdered. Ever since Vo…You-Know-Who killed my parents I have looked to Albus Dumbledore as a fa…father," Harry read from the cards the ministry men had written for him. He had felt too defeated to argue with what was in them so had vainly tried to memorize them in the 20 minutes before he had to say them to a crowd of hundreds.

"We need to…" Harry paused. He caught a movement in the back of the room. A hooded figure was making his way toward the back door, there was something familiar about the way this man walked.

"We need to listen to the ministry to stop more people, like Dumbledore and my parents from being sacrificed…"

As he spoke, Harry noticed more and more hooded figures in the room, all were heading towards exits, some looked as if they were trying too hard to look casual. He absent-mindedly continued speaking.

"The ministry is asking all of you to…" Harry stopped speaking again as he saw one of the figures pull out his wand and raise it towards the stage where Scrimgeour was standing.

Before Harry could shout any kind of warning, an explosion wracked the room.

* * *

Harry dove to the side and held his head down as he felt debris hit his back and legs. Cautiously he stood up, nothing seemed broken. He glanced over and saw that Scrimgeour was alive but with a nasty cut down his forehead and what looked like a broken leg as Aurors dragged him off. Harry jumped off the stage with only one thought on his mind; get to his friends.

Aurors had blasted open the doors at the back and were shepherding people out as more explosions went off throughout the room as chairs and even people were set on fire. Spells were bouncing off the walls as the Death Eaters and remaining Aurors battled each other.

Harry began pushing against the frantic crowd trying not to get trampled, he felt a pang of sadness as he stepped over fallen bodies but pushed his feelings aside for the moment. He didn't have time to deal with them yet.

"Ginny!" He shouted as he searched for any glimpse of her flaming red hair in the crowd. He could feel his body getting battered from the people pushing and shoving all around him and he had to duck several times to avoid being hit with curses. Finally he found her with Hermione and the Weasleys.

Ginny grabbed his hand and they all began to make their way toward the exit with the rest of the crowd.

As Harry ran he caught glimpses of the chaos all around him. To his left he spotted one of the Death Eaters sneaking out a stairwell. He recognized that one, it was the first figure he had noticed; Snape.

Harry let go of Ginny's hand and fought to go back, against the direction of the crowd. He could hear Ginny screaming his name behind him as the crowd, or perhaps her mother, pulled her further away.

With his mind set, and no other thoughts entering him he chased after Snape through the crumbling mess the auditorium had was becoming.

He reached the door Snape had gone through and charged up the stairs. When he emerged out the top he was surprised to realize he was on the roof. He had thought the ministry was entirely underground but apparently they had a small building disguised as an old bank.

Snape stood only 10 feet from Harry, his back turned.

Without even a thought of the consequences Harry let out a scream of rage and leapt at Snape knocking them both to the ground. Snape was taken by surprise, so even though Harry was much smaller he had the upper hand and began punching every inch of Snape he could reach.

Finally Harry reached to pull out his wand but in that one moment he let his guard down and Snape pushed Harry off of him and stood up.

"Potter," he hissed at Harry menacingly as he drew his own wand. He had a bloody nose and several gashes from the fight with Harry and in the ministry.

They now stood opposite each other, both with wands raised, ready for the other to make the first move. Then Snape chuckled.

"What's the matter, Potter? Too scared to fight me fore real? You are nothing but a…" But Snape never finished that sentence as right at that moment Harry shouted _'Crucio_' at Snape.

Caught off guard for the second time that day, Harry got the better of Snape and for a moment Snape writhed in pain. But Harry was still young and had only used the curse once before, on Bellatrix Lestrange. Snape was able to fight it off and he jumped up shouting '_Expelliarmus!'_

Harry's wand flew into Snape's hand. Snape stood panting as he regained his composure. Then without any warning pointed both his wand and Harry's at the boy and muttered the cutting curse.

Deep gashes sprang up all over Harry's body and he doubled over in pain. Before he could recover he was hit with crucio. Harry fell to the ground and bit his lip so hard it bled trying not to scream. He did not want to give Snape the satisfaction.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this, Potter! If only your father could be here to see this. Pathetic little Snivellus with perfect Potter's son's life in his hands. Ha!" Snape spat as he spoke and sounded as if he were truly mad.

"_CRUCIO MAXIMUS_!" Snape shouted as the pain Harry was feeling doubled and he let out the screams he could no longer hold in.

When Snape finally removed the curse both men were panting heavily.

"The dark lord wants you for himself Potter. Please always remember that if it weren't for that, I would have killed you here today." And with that Snape apparated away and Harry slipped into a blissful unconsciousness.

* * *

The next thing Harry felt was a steady throbbing in his head. He tried to open his eyes but everything was blurry and the light made the throbbing worse. He tried to sit up to reach for his glasses but ended up falling back into the bed. Every inch of him ached and he felt nauseas. Very slowly he moved his left arm onto the bedside table and felt around for his glasses. When he at last found them and the room came into focus. He was in a hospital, not Hogwarts obviously, '_probably St. Mungo's,'_ he thought to himself. He noticed that to the left of his bed were Ron and Hermione. Both his friends were asleep in a single chair, and Hermione was curled up on Ron's lap. Harry couldn't help but smile at this. He tried to sit up once more, slowly this time and hissed with pain as he leaned back. The sound caused Hermione to wake, and her stirring woke Ron. As soon as the two saw Harry was awake, Hermione leaped at him.

"Oh Harry!" she exclaimed hugging him.

"Ow! Hermione! Ron get her off!" Harry shouted no longer able to see his best friend past all of Hermione's bushy brown hair that was enveloping him.

Hermione lifted herself off Harry after realizing she was causing him pain. There were tears in her eyes.

"Ron, tell Hermione not to be such a girl, it's not that bad," But Ron never told Hermione because at that moment Ron too leaped at Harry and gave him as great a hug as Hermione had done.

After a beat Ron seemed to pull himself together and said in a purposefully deep voice, "Glad to have you back, Potter."

Hermione and Harry both burst into fits of laughter at Ron's pathetic display but the laughing made Harry retch and he was glad when a mediwitch arrived moments later.

When she had finished checking on him, Harry asked, "What happened?"

"Oh, Harry it was terrible!" Hermione exclaimed.

"We were all dragged out and we could hear the fighting going on but no one knew what was really happening. We waited in a safe room with all the others for about an hour before anyone came in to give us news," Ron explained.

"And then they asked us to come with them to the Minister's office and we saw you laying on the desk. Harry I was so scared you were dead!"

"We all were mate," Ron added.

Hermione continued, "So they brought you here to St. Mungo's. That was two days ago."

Harry took a moment to absorb all of this before allowing Hermione to keep talking.

"No one knew what happened to you. Ginny saw you run off and then Aurors found you on the rooftop, unconscious. Thirty-seven people were killed, and lots more were hurt."

"But at least a couple of them were Death Eaters," said Ron.

"But Ginny, and your parents, they're all alright aren't they?" Harry asked becoming anxious.

"No, they're all fine," Ron assured him. "Ginny's been a nightmare since it happened though, hasn't slept, she's been snapping at everyone."

"Where is she?" Harry asked.

"She went to get some food, we'll go get her,"

With that they left, Harry couldn't help but notice that they were holding hands. He took a deep breath and sank back into his pillows. Snape had beaten him again.

"One day," he vowed, "I WILL kill that man."

He was jolted from his resolve when the door opened and Ginny stepped into the room. Very quietly she walked over to Harry's bed. She didn't say anything just stared at him sadly.

"Hey," he whispered and that was all it took. Ginny burst into tears and lay her head down on Harry's blankets.

"Don't you EVER do that to me again! Do you have any idea how scared I was! You just left and then I saw you lying there covered in blood! You can NEVER make me worry that much again! You could have died!" Though her words were muffled by the blankets, Harry understood their meaning and he reached to her and pulled her into his embrace.

"Sh… I'm sorry. It's okay," he comforted her until she fell sound asleep beside him.

* * *

Harry had been denied no luxury upon being admitted to the hospital. He had been given his own private suite with a fire and soft lounge chairs and large four poster bed rather than the typical uncomfortable hospital beds. It was more like a hotel than a hospital.

All his injuries had been healed and he'd spent the next few days recovering his strength under the careful watch of the mediwitches of St. Mungo's. All his friends had come in to visit him and Ginny had hardly ever left his side.

Rita Skeeter had written an article about the ministry conference where she had exaggerated a great deal, and elaborately told her own version of the duel between Harry and Snape.

No one had heard any news on the whereabouts of the Death Eaters, although two of them were killed and another had been caught and sent to Azkaban. Snape remained illusive with the rest of them but nothing could yield Harry's determination to face Snape again and destroy him.

Bill's wedding was in a few days. After which he would finally set out to end the war and find his destiny.

**AN: I know this is starting to sound really familiar but once again I am SOOOO sorry that this has taken me so long! The thing is that I started this story in the summer when I had lots of time to write it, but now that schools back on (and my social life has been more dramatic than I care for) I haven't had as much time. Anyway there's just ONE CHAPTER LEFT! I'm excited, and I hope you all are too! **


	13. Epilogue Rays of Hope

Harry wriggled in the uncomfortable plastic chair he was sitting in. The Weasley's backyard had been elaborately decorated for Bill and Fleur's wedding, including chairs, flowers, an altar and even an ice sculpture which had cooling charms on it.

Harry was seated next to Ron who seemed to have become much closer with Hermione, though, whether anything had happened between them, neither was saying.

Harry looked up toward the altar and met Ginny's eyes. She looked stunning in her pale blue bridesmaids dress.

'_In fact'_, Harry thought, '_even with their Veela blood, Fleur and Gabrielle pale in comparison to Ginny's beauty.'_

Ginny silently giggled noticing how Harry's jaw had dropped. They continued to gaze into each other's eyes through the whole ceremony, each second appreciating their love so much more.

When finally Bill and Fleur were finally pronounced 'Husband and Wife' and had shared the traditional kiss, everyone clapped and cheered and took joy in their happiness.

The chairs were rearranged around tables and a dance floor was set up as everyone prepared for the party.

Harry had gone inside to take his formal jacket off as it was too hot outside to keep wearing it. As he was heading back outside he paused in the doorway and took a moment to see and appreciate all his friends who had given him something to fight for and given him hope. They were laughing and chatting and everyone was smiling, Bill and Fleur were practically glowing with happiness. Ron and Hermione were dancing and holding each other close and Harry realized that this may be one of the last times he would see all these people happy again. Who knew what would happen after Harry left tomorrow. All he knew was that people were going to die, and he might be one of them. By the time he returned things would have changed a great deal. And though the thought terrified him, it also gave him strength.

He was taken away from his dark thoughts when he felt fingers intertwine with his own and looked over to see Ginny leaning against his shoulder. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Are you okay?" she asked gently.

"Yeah, Gin. I really think I am."

Ginny did not look convinced so Harry put his arm around her and said, "C'mon Ginny, lets dance. This may be one of the last times we're all together like this." And though it was a sad thing to say, they smiled at each other.

Harry walked out into the garden with the girl he loved and joined all the others he loved and smiled as the rays of sunlight hit his face, giving him Hope.

**

* * *

AN: Ok so I know that was really short but it is only the epilogue. Wow this fic has taken me a long time to finish. But I think I'm pretty happy with the result. I started off writing it thinking it would only be a couple of chapters but it morphed into something quite different. I hope you all enjoyed it! Review!**


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